Month: August 2016

IELTS Cue Card Sample Answer # Important Day

 

Describe an important day that you celebrate in your country.

You should say:

  • when do you celebrate it?
  • what is its historical importance
  • who are main people involved in it?

explain how you celebrate the day.

There are lot of days in our country which have got some importance associated with them. From having relegious importance to being very important nationally, we celebrate these days with lot of vigor. One of these days is the republic day which is celebrated every year on 26th of January.

This is the day when the constitution of our country came into effect. Although, the country had made up its constitution and all the 308 members had signed on 24 January 1950, the constitution came into effect on 26-January. This was to mark the importance of 26th January. Two decades back, on this day the Indian people had started celebrating the Independence of the country, even before it had become free. To mark the importance of this event, the day was chosen to celebrate the republic day.

On this day, ceremonious parades take place at the Rajpath, which are performed as a tribute to India; its unity in diversity and rich cultural heritage. The event’s main lead is the President who unfurls the national flag and there are several a-list ministers invited. Along with them, a person from a foreign country is invited to be part of the event. On this day, several bravery awards are given and different schools and the the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force perform the beating retreat.

important day

Lot of more events are held and apart from the main event in Rajpath, it is celebrated across the entire country, with schools and colleges preparing for it for a long period of time. You can hear lot of patriotic songs being played all over the country.

Most of the times, I along with my friends go out to a historical place and figure out more about our country on this day.  Last year, I remember we all sat down to read the constitution of our country. It is always amazing for all of us to know more about a beautiful country like India, we are proud to  be part of.

There are several days which are important to the country and are celebrated with lot of excitement and preparations through out the country. One of the events is the “Rath yatra” that takes place every year in the month of July/June in Puri. This is the day it is believed that God comes out to meet his devotees. What is special about this event is that otherwise, people of other religions apart from Hindus are not allowed in this temple and when the deities do come out, people from all around the world come to see the God and touch him.

It is believed that the one who is able to pull the chariot gets to get rid of all his or her sins. And so people from all over the country come, bare foot to be able to touch the chariot in which the God is taken from the Jagannath temple to the place where they are assumed to rest for some time. There are lot of stories associated with this event. One is that one this day, Lord jagannath with his brother and sister go towards their aunt’s house and in the mean while they forget to visit Laxmi. So, on their journey back, their is this entire drama that takes place where Laxmi refuses to let Jagannath in the house.

One can find lot of plays being enacted for the audience. People watch them and cheer for their God. Every year, it is believed that stampede could be possible and people do die, but the excitement and the faith with which people come to see their God is amazing. People shout, smile and almost loose themselves to be able to just see their God, to touch them.

I visit the Rath yatra at Puri every year and have managed to pull the chariot lot many times.

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Memories of Favourite Places # Improve Vocabulary

MEMORIES OF FAVOURITE PLACES

It could be that romantic restaurant, or your favourite park bench. A specific part of the brain seems to be responsible for learning and remembering the precise locations of places that are special to us, research in mice has shown for the first time.

Place cells are neurons that help us map our surroundings, and both mice and humans have such cells in the hippocampus – a brain region vital for learning, memory and navigation.

Nathan Danielson at Columbia University in New York and his colleagues focused on a part of the hippocampus that feeds signals to the rest of the brain, called CA1. They found that in mice, the CA1 layer where general environment maps are learned and stored is different to the one for locations that have an important meaning.

Treadmill test

They discovered this by recording brain activity in the two distinct layers of CA1, using mice placed on a treadmill. The treadmill rotated between six distinctive surface materials – including silky ribbons, green pom-pom fabric and silver glitter masking tape. At all times, the mice were able to lick a sensor to try to trigger the release of drinking water.

During the first phase of the experiment, however, the sensor only worked at random times. The mice formed generalised maps of their experience on the multi-surfaced treadmill, and the team found that these were stored in the superficial layer of CA1.

Then the team activated the sensor only when the mice were on a specific surface, such as the one with silky strips. Mice learned to coordinate their licking with being on the “active” zone, and developed a map that was stored in the deeper layer of CA1.

The team’s conclusion, Danielson says, is that the superficial CA1 layer forms a stable baseline representation of the environment, while the deeper layer maps emotional significance.

“It’s like navigating to your favourite restaurant,” says Danielson. “You need to know the general area, and the wider environment, but the location of the restaurant is of special significance, and incorporates an emotional element,” he says.

#WORDMEANINGSYNONYM
1RomanticOf, or relating to, or of the nature of romance; fanciful; impractical; unrealisticAdventurous, amorous, charming, colorful, corny, dreamy, erotic, exciting, exotic, fanciful, fantastic, fascinating, glamorous, maudlin, mysterious, nostalgic, passionate, tender, utopian, whimsical
2RestaurantAn establishment where meals are served to customersBar, cafeteria, coffee shop, diner, dining room, inn, joint, outlet, saloon, canteen, chophouse, dive, drive-in, eatery, grill, hideaway, lunchroom, pizzeria
3FavoriteA person or thing regarded with special favor or preferenceBeloved, cherished, favored, main, popular, prized, treasured, choice, darling, dear, dearest, intimate, personal, pet, sweetheart
4ColleaguesAn associateAide, ally, assistant, buddy, co-worker, companion, comrade, friend, partner, teammate, auxiliary, chum, coadjutor, cohort, collaborator, compatriot, compeer, confederate, confrere, crony, helper, pal, workmate
5DiscoveredTo notice or realizeDetected, disclosed, exposed, identified, invented, ascertained, disinterred, espied, explored, learned, observed, opened, originated, perceived, presented, recognized, revealed, shown, sighted, spotted, unearthed, unlocked, unveiled
6DistinctDistinguished as not being same; not identical; separateDefinite, noticeable, recognizable, specific, unmistakable, audible, categorical, clean-cut, clear, clear-cut, enunciated, evident, explicit, express, incisive, lucid, manifest, marked, palatable, patent, perspicuous, plain, prescribed, sharp, transparent, trenchant, unambiguous
7TreadmillAn exercise machine that allows the user to walk or run in place, usually on a continuous moving beltChore, drudgery, groove, labor, pace, rote, routine, rut, sweat, task, toil, travail, grub work, hard work, moil
8DistinctiveServing to distinguish; characteristic; distinguishingCool, extraordinary, idiosyncratic, offbeat, original, peculiar, singular, special, weird, characteristic, diacritic, diagnostic, discrete, distinguishing, excellent, far cry, gnarly, individual, like night and day, outstanding, perfect, poles apart, proper, separate
9TriggerTo initiate or precipitate; to become activeBring about, cause, generate, produce, prompt, provoke, set off, spark, start, activate, elicit, give rise to, set in motion
10SuperficialBeing at, on, or near the surface; apparent rather than real.Cursory, frivolous, one-dimensional, perfunctory, silly, sketchy, slight, trivial, apparent, casual, cosmetic, depthless, desultory, empty, evident, exterior, external, flash, flimsy, general, glib, half-baked, hasty, hurried, ignorant, inattentive, warped, tip of the iceberg, ostensible,
11ConclusionThe end or close; final partClosure, completion, consequence, denouement, development, ending, outcome, result, cease, cessation, close, culmination, eventuality, finale, finish, issue, payoff, period, stop, termination, upshot, windup, wrap
12NavigatingTo walk or find one’s way on, in, or acrossCross, cruise, handle, maneuver, operate, sail, steer, captain, direct, drive, helm, journey, pilot, plan, plot, skipper, voyage, head out for, lay the course, ride out
13IncorporatesTo put or introduce into a body or mass as an integral part or partsAbsorb, assimilate, blend, consolidate, cover, embody, fuse, integrate, merge, mix, organize, amalgamate, associate, charter, coalesce, dub, form, imbibe, join, link, pool, start ,subsume, unite, add to, gang up, hook in, put together, tie in
14EmotionalPertaining to or involving emotion; subject to or easily affected by emotionsAffecting, exciting, heated, hysterical, impassioned, moving, nervous, passionate, poignant, sensitive, sentimental, spontaneous, touching, ardent, disturbed, ecstatic, emotive, enthusiastic, excitable, falling apart, fanatical, feeling, fervent fervid, fickle, fiery, heartwarming, histrionic, hot-blooded, impetuous, impulsive, irrational, overwrought, pathetic, responsive, roused, sentient, stirred

 

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IELTS Speaking Sample Questions # Privacy

We are living in the world of internet, where everything we do is all stored in the databases of companies like facebook, google, amazon. From our credit card details, to the choices we make, from the things we buy to the ones we discard. Yet, with everything being so open, some are able to maintain their privacy. Privacy from people we meet, from the ones we care off and the ones we don’t like things about. With privacy becoming so important, let us today have a look at some of the questions related to privacy.
How much do you value your privacy?

For me, privacy is important. Although, I am an extrovert, with almost everything open to others, there are certain things I prefer only I know or the ones who are very near to me know about. If people try to hinder in those areas, it really does gets on my nerve.

Do you think that websites like Facebook take away too much of your privacy?

Surely yes. With people putting everything out online, from the places they visit, to the people they are dating, I think privacy has surely become a very fragile term in today’s world. But, then I think it also depends on the individual. There are people I have met who use Facebook only for interacting with their friends and nothing more. Neither do they update any status nor any photo.

Do you think people have the right to privacy? How about convicted criminals?

I think every individual has the right to privacy, to keep their lives to themselves or to share with a few people. Even if they are convicted criminals. But, then it is the job of the police to make sure that they are able to find the criminal and make sure justice is made.

The only people who need privacy are people who are doing something illegal. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

No, I don’t believe in this. One can do everything perfectly legal and yet require some privacy. Like, there are people who don’t like to open up in front of strangers, share lot of things happening in their lives. For example, I had a friend who married her love of life in a very secretive way because she did not liked any tantrums and drama. It was perfectly legal and her choice.

privacy

Do you think the Internet increases privacy or takes away privacy?

In my opinion, internet neither gives or takes away privacy. Because, in the end it is in the hands of people to give or not their private lives. However, too an extent it does decreases privacy, in a sense that, the details of bank accounts and loans taken are now stored in the databases of the websites customer use for transaction.

What is the greatest threat to privacy?

Internet is surely a great threat to privacy. With eCommerce sites coming in today’s world,lot of people tend to give away their bank details to these sites. If somehow these sites get hacked, there are chances of people losing their money.

How private should corporations be? Should the public have access to corporate records?

I believe, corporations should be private about its employees details and documents. However, when it comes to the actions that the company is planning to take next, there should not be any problem in giving off the details to the public. After all, in my opinion, the public should have a fair voice in giving suggestion to the company.

How transparent should a government be?

A government should be transparent enough, that if the citizen of a country faces an issue, he or she should be able to fight back. He or she should be provided the correct knowledge about the law and order or the country so that he or she can fight back with the right power and in the right direction.

Where do you like to go when you want to be alone?

I prefer going to a  library when I want to be alone. Every library has that one corner where there is no one and you could just go there, sit down and read your favorite books. In a recent library that I visited, one was provided cubicles, where we could take the books, and coffee and read books, enjoy them at our own pace.

Should there be more, or less, security cameras around cities?

I think there should be definitely more security cameras. With the crime rates increasing, I believe cameras provide the citizens with the security. Even more, they bring in a sense of fear among the criminals and even tend to help the police officers to take on the criminals.

How is privacy viewed in your culture?

Privacy in our culture is not regarded very important, so you can see people coming in rooms like that and trying to know about the other person life. With people who you get close to, it is assumed that there should not be any privacy or secrets to hide. However, with globalization taking place, people in my culture are even learning the art of privacy.

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IELTS Sample Listening Question # Day Trip

Day Trip

The audio given below has been taken from BBC 6 minutes English. You can download it, from the given link –
http://goo.gl/UdbaVM


Answer the following questions in NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS

  1. What kind of trip is it when you go to a particular place and return on the same day?
  2. Which places did Callum usually go during his day trip?
  3. As a child, where did Neil lived?
  4. Which planet is the closest to Earth?
  5. Which word is used when you see something but only for a short period of time or not completely?
  6. Which phrase is used to mean that something is kept as a secret?
  7. How high above the Earth will the actual space ship travel?
  8. Which hardware has been designed to take passengers to space?
  9. What is the cost of day trip to space?
  10. What is the duration of the sub-orbital trip?

day trip
ANSWER

  1. day trip
  2. forest, beach
  3. Canada
  4. Venus
  5. glipmpse
  6. under wraps
  7. 62 miles
  8. White Knight
  9. $200,000
  10. two and half hours

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